barryvan

Quiet Rituals

Written by

Barry van Oudtshoorn

in

, ,

Completed: Thursday, April 16, 2009 (Download)

Finally, after quite a while, I’ve got a new track out. 🙂 It’s been sitting on my computer for a couple of weeks now, and there are still a few things in it that I would like to iron out, but my inability to get the time to do so means that it’s just been bugging me. So now I’ve decided to just put it up as is.

Anyway, the track itself is quite a simple piece: I did, in fact, try to make it simple. It’s somewhat influenced by Ravel’s Bolero and the Newsboys’ The Orphan, in that it is constantly building by both adding and removing layers. It’s also, perhaps, influenced a bit by some of Coldplay’s stuff: I was listening to Viva La Vida and Prospekt’s March recently, and I was interested to note that in lots of those tracks there’s the same ‘kick on every beat’-type thing going on.

Let me know what you think.

[audio:http://www.barryvan.com.au/music/Quiet%20Rituals.mp3]

Comments

7 responses to “Quiet Rituals”

  1. Din Avatar
    Din

    I love the piano melody and how it periodically rolls upward through an almost chromatic scale. Nice and fresh sounding. And that bassline is alive! I’m not too crazy about the drums. They seem not to fit the rest of the mood as well as something a little more dynamic, if still as urgent or energetic sounding as the 4/4 on the floor (or whatever it’s called; I don’t do dance terminology). Get back on the horse and finish it 🙂

    Reply
  2. Nahkranoth Avatar
    Nahkranoth

    First!!!
    So, a brief comeback from real life, eh? 😀
    Frankly, I can’t put this track into your top 10, because I’d like it without piano and BD. Just want them strings, that are playing on the background. Or maybe a shortened piano part for the intro, not sure.

    Reply
  3. The Eagle Avatar
    The Eagle

    Second! 😉

    Very beautiful. I really like melodic pieces like this…
    But please, remove that ugly bassdrum an replace it with some (not dominating) percs that fit in this “fine mood” the melody transports to me…

    Reply
  4. Sam_Zen Avatar
    Sam_Zen

    Quite agree with the formal speakers. Piano and BD are just illustrations with a picture.
    Strings are strong enough on this one.

    Reply
  5. Nahkranoth Avatar
    Nahkranoth

    After some further listening:
    Piano is OK. I just don’t like piano so I needed to bitch about it 😀
    BD issue is still there, and the whole song needs some variation. It’s just my opinion, but we’re into different musical styles, so you shouldn’t take it too seriously.

    Reply
  6. Clones Avatar
    Clones

    Hi Barry, soft sad ballad… until the uptempo bass drum totally changes he mood. I like the piano – but the bass drum and by inference the bass guitar later on) doesn’t work for me.

    It seems like you were trying to marry two moods in this piece – to be honest I prefer the quieter and slower variant.

    Reply
  7. Barry van Oudtshoorn Avatar
    Barry van Oudtshoorn

    Thanks for the feedback everyone! 🙂

    Hmm… It seems that the general consensus is that the kick etc. doesn’t work for the piece. I might have a go at a different version of this piece at some stage, with a different direction of development. I’m glad, though, that you all seem to like the piano, the strings, or both. 🙂

    @Din: Thanks for the feedback, Din! I may well do what you say, and “get back on the horse and finish it.” 😀

    Reply

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